Who's talking about writing math formulas in Excel or creating a table of contents in Word? I don't know how to do either of those things. i'm talking about basic computer operating skills. These kids here have already been doing lessons and homework online before school started - at least those whose parents had the money to buy them tablets and computers anyway.
- Thread starter Dolores
- Start date
The high cost of sending children back to school
Well, I think we have a differing view of computer skills. And please don't take that the wrong way, it was not meant with disrespect.
We have 2 laptops and one tablet from the government...these are being used for everything. and very little for schoolwork........
I don't mean to offend in any way, but I practically work in IT (or very close to it) and in my opinion, my parents and grandma for that matter, are all very much computer literate. No, in my opinion computer literate does not mean what you describe above, but much less. My 70 yo dad or grandma who is almost in her 80s both know how to do their online banking, understand not the just basics of Windows but a bit more, know how to write and save files. My grandma does not know what Excel is, but in my opinion, I do consider her to be computer literate. I have had to attend customer complaints from very senior citizens who don't know how to write on a keyboard or do not know what a browser is (yet they somehow landed on the website I'm responsible for)... That is close to computer illiterate.
I have a vague idea on how to write queries in Access, the other things you mention I know how to do, but those skills are not needed by someone who just uses a computer in their daily life. For a teacher, I'd think, most important would be the proficient use of a web browser, ability to handle online and offline documents and basic (very basic) Excel skills... Anyone with a different opinion or more knowledge on this, feel free to jump in...
No offense taken at all Josh. We're all too hyper sensitive anyways.
I guess I differentiate between using a computer for entertainment or for getting something done.
we used Google Classoom and Google Meet for at home classes last year. My kids learned a lot. They had to store documents in Drive, upload photos of their tarea, etc. And, in the end they had to do presentations using Microsoft Powerpoint. They can learn. And skills transfer from one application to others. My daughters are 12 and 15 years. Teachers skills aren't always the best. And, they could not always keep Classroom configured correctly - it denied uploads frequently. But, we all got through it. Now they are doing in-person classes. They also did their Powerpoint presentations in person last year at the end of the year.
I will also add that all of this takes a lot of involvement by parents who can help their children. Which in many, many case is not possible. So, that is a big downside. They should have computer skills training classes at the schools. in my opinion. The teachers at the colegio did offer this sometimes on line, with Google Meet.
Hi, I als manage a school in Haiti. Run thru a NGO. But maintained and paid for by my company. Four hundred kids in Labadee. We had to put them in a local school in Cap due to the pandemic. The biggest shock was the food offering 2 meals a day locally is 6x more expensive then when our ships bring it. We pay for everything for the students. The food price had to do with amounts sourcing, quality, transportation, security (had trucks hijacked) etc. I feel for those running schools just trying to break even. We will reopen our school 21 Sept. Plus of course our school is 100% on generator and we make our water reverse osmosis. Plus we have a sewage treatment plant for our site and incinerator. So you can imagine what the actual cost would be! However, we have the effort has it’s rewards when you walk the playground and see the kids.